The Nationals: New South Wales completes Australian Pairs clean sweep
It was a remarkable day for New South Wales as the state claimed a golden sweep at the 2022 Australian Championships on pairs day at Broadbeach.
Recently crowned Under-18 Male Bowler of the Year Jack McShane was on song with his Club Merrylands (Club of the Year) teammate in Shawn Thompson as the duo went undefeated throughout the third day of the competition.
In the women’s tournament, Anne Johns and Sam Ferguson capped off the unblemished day for the state as they conquered the field to take the championship for themselves following a come from behind and extra end win over South Australia in the final.
McShane and Thompson commenced their day with a commanding 15-9 win over Northern Territory stalwarts Mark Malogorski and Trystan Smallacombe before taking a duo of victories against the ACT and South Australia.
Their opponents in the final would be Queensland’s Chris Le Lievre and Right at Home Jackaroo Matt Lucas who managed to sneak through to the final on shot difference.
The Queenslanders commenced proceedings with a mammoth 24-7 win over Western Australia’s Dale Marsland and Blake Nairn before suffering a defeat at the hands of Victorians Ethan Fruend and Adrian Pantling.
The duo came from behind against Tasmania to seal their spot in the final on shots ahead of Victoria in second and Western Australia in third, who would rue the heavy early defeat despite boasting two wins from the three encounters.
In the final it was the New South Wales team who gained a 5-0 lead early and never looked back as they raced to a 17-10 lead with an end to play.
What was seen afterwards was simply remarkable.
Needing seven to force a deciding end, the Queenslanders could not find a solution so Lucas took it upon himself to kill the end on a whopping six occasions to prolong the match into its fourth hour.
It was to no avail however, as New South Wales held on to their advantage to win 17-11.
Fruend and Pantling would claim bronze with a 17-12 win over the Northern Territory.
In the women’s event, Johns and Ferguson were switched on from the outset, with a shot difference of +32 from their three wins against Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland.
The pair would reach the decider against South Australians Christine Nicholls and Kerry Treloar, who navigated their way through a tough section on shot difference.
The South Australians would account for the Northern Territory in the opening matchup of the morning before suffering a defeat at the hands of Victorians Nicole McKenzie and Barbara Vaughan.
It was a final for the ages as Ferguson and Johns fought back from the brink, being as far as 14-7 behind before a six late in the piece brought the Engadine Bowls Club pair back into contention.
With their opponents holding a one-shot lead heading into the final end, NSW were able to take shot and force an extra end that would see winner take all.
Johns would seal the win and a spectacular day for her state with the 16-15 win.
Tasmania’s Kim Saunders and Debra Lee would claim another bronze medal to go with their triples award with their 10-8 win over Victoria.
2022 Australian Championships Pairs Medallists
| Men | Women | |
| Gold | Jack McShane & Shawn Thompson (NSW) | Sam Ferguson & Anne Johns (NSW) |
| Silver | Chris Le Lievre & Matt Lucas (QLD) | Chris Nicholls & Kerry Treloar (SA) |
| Bronze | Ethan Fruend & Adrian Pantling (VIC) | Debra Lee & Kim Saunders (TAS) |
